Love Is a Game of Poker is a 1962 instrumental album by Nelson Riddle that blends cool jazz, lounge, and orchestral pop into a sleek, urbane soundscape. Featuring smooth brass, tasteful strings, and swinging rhythms, the album showcases Riddle’s signature arranging style with a modernist touch that was ahead of its time. Each track plays like a stylish vignette, conjuring images of smoky casinos, quiet cocktails, and mid-century sophistication. It stands as one of Riddle’s most distinctive and mood-rich records outside his more famous vocal collaborations.
